In a rare bit of good news for the Mission bar scene, the Planning Commission has granted the new owners of Pop’s a full entertainment license. For those of you not hip to the minutiae of San Francisco’s weird permitting rules, this means that when Pop’s reopens, it will legally be allowed to rock both DJ’s and live bands. 

Mission Local reports:

The historic bar’s new owner, Michael Krouse, who also owns Madrone on Divisadero, applied for a permit to have a full entertainment license, meaning the bar could legally offer its patrons live bands and DJs. With some conditions, the commission unanimously approved the change of use. […]

The bar’s live music program will operate until 10 p.m. and DJs until 2 a.m., its existing operating hours. [Erick Arguello of Calle 24] said that Calle 24 is mostly supportive of granting the bar its full entertainment license, but hopes that they can find some sort of compromise about hours. The group of merchants hopes the bar will cease operations at midnight, to which Krouse noted that the bar can already operate until 2 a.m. with its existing liquor license.

This welcome development allows for the outside possibility that the new Pop’s may retain some of its pre-renovation, shit-hole charm. Before the city cracked down, neighborhood kids spinning sets was always one of the bar’s highlights (that and the cheap beers/bacon bloody marys/analog photo booth whose constantly wafting photo processing chemicals were a big contributor to the bar’s nickname of “Poop’s”).

Of course, there’s no word yet on what sort of music Krouse will book. But at this point, simply being able to legally have live music at all seems like a small win.

[Photo: Jeremy Brooks]